DOLLARS AND SENSE: GIVING TO THE CHURCH

DOLLARS AND SENSE: GIVING TO THE CHURCH 1 Timothy 6:17-19 November 12,  2000 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory here were two men shipwrecked on this island. The minute they got on to the island one of them started screaming and yelling, "We're going to die! We're going to die! There's no food! No water! We're going to Die!" The second man was propped up against a palm tree and acting so calmly it drove the first man crazy. "Don't you understand? We're going to die!" The second man replied, "You don't understand, I make $100,000 a week." The first man looked at him quite dumbfounded and asked, "What difference does that make?!? We're on an island with no food and no water! We're going to DIE!!!" The second man answered, "You just don't get it. I make $100,000 a week and I tithe ten percent on that $100,000 a week. My pastor will find me!" Of the 38 parables Jesus told, 16 were about money. There are about 500 verses in the Bible about faith. There are about 500 verses about prayer in the Bible. There are over 1,000 verses about money and how God expects people to handle it. We're going to spend a couple of weeks on this topic, too. I want us to ask and answer some very fundamental questions concerning the stewardship of money and what the will of the Lord is in this matter. Along the way I hope you will find the will of the Lord for your personal stewardship practice. In fact, I want to encourage you to intentionally seek the Lord in this matter. We have handed out the commitment cards that give you an opportunity to make a faith commitment to the Lord for the coming year. Remember, this is not a promise to anyone other than God. No one here is going to call you up and remind you, let alone hound you, about your commitment. In fact, you are not even being asked to sign the card. I hope by now we've made it clear that these financial commitment figures are very important to the leadership as we set up a budget for the coming year. Knowing what the anticipated giving will be helps us in determining a budget goal that is both faithful and prudent. So, I urge you to pray and seek the Lord's will for your stewardship commitment. Ask Him what He wants you to give in the coming year-both your tithes and offerings for the general expenses of MECF and your extra giving toward the pay-off of the Ashland Avenue property. I'm looking forward to some exciting testimonies from those who sought God, heard from Him, trusted Him and saw His miraculous provision in the coming year. Text - 1 Timothy 6:17-19 "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." Part of my job this morning is to convince you that you are among the richest people in the world. We are, you know. Nothing convinces you like a trip abroad. When we visited Niger two years ago, saw first hand people living on nothing-literally nothing-only what they could barter, beg or steal. Fully two-thirds of the adults we met were, for all practical purposes, unemployed. The government doesn't help them out-they are the poorest country in the world and often can't afford to pay their police and teachers. On our recent trip to Brazil we asked the Toths, our host family and missionaries whom we support, what the average worker makes in Brazil. After a short instruction on how there are basically only two classes, the very poor, and the rich. Among the poor, workers make about 75-80 relai per month (one "salary"). This is equivalent to about $.45 American money, with Brazilian buying power of about $.75. These people live on very little-roughly $60 per month. And yet, when the offering is received in their church, a roomful of excited and grateful people line up at the front table to give their offering. Dear Lord, I have been re-reading the record of the Rich Young Ruler and his obviously wrong choice. But it has set me thinking. No matter how much wealth he had, he could not ride in a car, have any surgery, turn on a light, buy penicillin, hear a pipe organ, watch TV, wash dishes in running water, type a letter, mow a lawn, fly in an airplane, sleep on an innerspring mattress, or talk on the phone. If he was rich, then what am I.--Bill Boice Author Norman Cousins said that each year in the US Americans lose an average of $75 each. It falls out of their pockets, is misplaced, stolen, and so forth. The total average income for most of the human race is $69 per person annually. The average American loses more money each year than most others earn in a year! Why are the words of this text at 1Timothy 6 aimed at the rich? It is not because they have more money and God wants to get some of it. God doesn't need our money. He said in the Scriptures, "If I were hungry do you think I would ask you?" No, God doesn't need your money. But He insists that we be faithful and generous because He knows that the consecration that doesn't reach the pocketbook doesn't reach the heart! And He knows we will never be happy and fulfilled until we learn to give. And the sad fact is, those who have the most give the least (percentage-wise). Ron Blue reports that the US per capita disposable income rose by 54% between 1968 and 1994, but charitable giving as a percentage of income declined by 21%. According to an article in Time magazine this past July, poorer Americans give a greater percentage of their income to charity than richer Americans. Those who earned less than $10,000 gave 5.2% away. Those whose income was between $10,000 and 20,000 gave 3.3 percent. And those earning between $75,000 and $100,000 gave only 1.6% as a whole. Citation: "The New Philanthropy," Time (7-24-00) So, God aims His Word at those who have more, not because He wants to cash in on their wealth (He gave them their wealth to begin with!), but because it is those who have more who find it particularly hard to give sacrificially, and they are missing the blessing. Someone worked up a little research and determined that if every person in every church in America were on welfare, and they all tithed, the total giving in the churches would double. It isn't hard to speculate why richer people give a smaller percentage of their income, is it? The Bible is pretty clear that it is hard for a person who has much to be able to give it up. Riches get a stranglehold on us. It starts out with us thinking we have something; then, before you know it, it has us! The warnings concerning being rich (or even wanting to get rich) are strong in 1 Timothy 6. Verse 9: "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." You've probably heard the funny story about the hillbilly from West Virginia who was raised way out in the sticks and had never even seen a big city. He married a local girl and they had one son whom they creatively named Junior. The family continued to live in the woods. When Junior turned 16, paw thought it would be a good idea to get the boy exposed to the big city. So they saved up for their big trip and in three years they had enough. They threw all their belongings into the back of the pick up truck and off they drove to the big city. They had made reservations at a nice uptown hotel, and as they approached the hotel Paw said, "Mama, you stay in the truck while Junior and I go in and look around. We'll come back and git ya, OK?" Paw & Junior walked into the brightly lit lobby and they could neither one believe their eyes. They stepped on a mat and the doors opened automatically for them. Their were lights all around and pleasant music. They heard a clicking sound behind them. They turned around and saw this amazing little room with doors that slid open from the center. People would walk up and push a button. Then a few seconds later the doors would open. Some people would walk out of the little room and others would walk in and turn around. They heard the click and the doors would shut again. They were fascinated with this little room. They watched as a little old wrinkled woman walked up, pushed the button and waited for the doors to the room to open. She walked inside and the doors slid shut. Twenty seconds later the doors opened again and out walked this beautiful woman attractively dressed, shapely and as pretty as anyone Paw had ever seen. As she walked by, Paw elbowed his son and said, "Junior, go git Mama, quick!" Everybody's looking for a room where they can find their dreams come true. Paul says that the pursuit of things in this world do not satisfy. This is the hazard of the rich-and of the poor, who want to be rich-to desire so much the things of this world that their affections for the Lord and His kingdom are taken hostage by worldly riches. Paul counsels all us rich folks 1. not to be arrogant (proud of our stuff) 2. not to put our hope (trust) in wealth 3. rather, put our hope in God (who provides everything for us) 4. to do good, be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. (That's how you overcome greed and the pride of riches-you give it away!) The pastor was visiting with a farmer and asked him, "If you had $200 would you give $100 to the Lord?" Proudly, the farmer said, "Yep!" "If you have two cows, would you give one of them to the Lord?" "Yes, I would." "What if you had two pigs-would you give one of them to the Lord?" "That's not fair-you know I have two pigs!" As long as all this talk about giving is theoretical it doesn't hurt so bad, does it? Against this backdrop of 1 Timothy 6 I want to bring a few reasons why the Lord wants us to give to the church. 1. Giving to His church shows your love and gratitude for Jesus This is our primary reason for giving to the Lord's work through the church, isn't it? We love Him and we are grateful for all He has done for us. When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about giving sacrificially, he told them, "I am testing the sincerity of your love.for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:8-9). Notice how the believers would show the sincerity of the love: by giving-giving that comes from a loving, grateful heart. 2. We give to the church because the church is the only organization that Jesus said He died for and He is building Matthew 16:18 - "I will build my church." When we give into the enterprise of the local church, we are helping Jesus build His church. We are, in fact, financing the Kingdom of God! Every person who enters the kingdom through the outreach of this congregation whether through a local cell group or by means of one of the many missions we support throughout the world; every person who grows in their faith and begins to serve others in the name of Christ because of the effective influence of this church; every single life that is influenced to deeper discipleship to Jesus-these are the advancements of the Kingdom of God-the fulfillment of the Great Commission. And you are helping to finance that work through your regular giving to the church here. 3. We give because it is a part of our worship Richard Cunningham writes, "Giving is preeminently an act of worship. It ought then to be a focal point of thanksgiving and self-dedication in weekly worship." While it is true that giving to this church helps to pay the bills of our ministry, it is important to see the act of placing your money in the offering plate as an expression of your personal devotion to God. When you give your monetary offerings, try to keep in mind that it is more than money in a basket-it is a token of your entire self given in devotion to the Lord. We work hard to incorporate giving as part of our Sunday morning Celebration-not just as an obligatory thing, but as part of the whole fabric of our worship. The testimonies you occasionally hear, the stewardship teachings and exhortations, the skits which you've seen recently-these are all attempts to help us all appreciate that when we give our tithes and offerings it is no less worship than when we sing songs, pray and receive the Lord's Supper. And we worship because we know it pleases the Lord. Did you know that your giving pleases the Lord, because it is worship? 4. We give because He promised to provide for us in proportion to the faith we demonstrate when we give. "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into you lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38-39). "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." God has set up this whole discipline of giving as a reciprocating blessing. If we will give, He will take care of us. If we will give generously, He will take care of us generously. Do you want God to bring His blessings to you in a dump truck? Then don't bring your offerings to Him in a teaspoon! 5. We give because it is a means to our maturity In a nutshell, if you give with a genuine heart for the Lord, you grow. If you don't give, you don't grow. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Just as you excel in everything.see to it that you also excel in this grace of giving." He wanted them to come to maturity, and the apostle knew that once we learn the discipline of generous, consistent and sacrificial giving, we can grow to new levels. Some here have reached the tough, sticky spots in your spiritual growth. And you have slowed down precisely because you have not begun to give as the Scripture and the Spirit are directing you. It's too hard, you say. You'll start giving more faithfully when you get that new job. You'll get serious when the car is paid off. "God doesn't want the little bit I can afford to give-I'll just wait until I can really make a difference. But the thing is, God knows exactly where you are and He is saying, "Start where you are right now; be faithful and sacrificial; and see if I won't bring you blessings that you'll hardly be able to withstand." It isn't the amount-it's the amount of sacrifice. A $20 gift from a person of minimal means can be a greater gift in God's sight than $10,000 from someone who can easily afford it. 6. We give because giving keeps us focused on the kingdom of God and not on this world Matthew 6:33 is often referred to as the "Key to Contentment" - "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be given to you as well." This is a most incredible offer, brothers and sisters. Have you received a call from any stock brokers lately and had them tell you, "Look, if you'll invest your money with me, I can guarantee you will always have everything you need-not only money, but peace, security and contentment!" Of course not, because this is an "other-worldly" offer. This is a divine deal, a tip from God Himself! You've heard the testimonies these past couple of weeks. It is  true-when you put God first in the matter of finances, you enter into a relationship of reciprocating blessings with Him. You give and He keeps giving back more "seed" for you to plant in His kingdom. When you start eating your seed and stop planting it in the kingdom, it means you've stopped putting Him first in your finances, and the blessings dry up. Your giving to the Kingdom is an investment that lasts for eternity. Verses 18-19 - "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." In 1815 Napoleon was defeated in the battle of Waterloo, and the hero of that battle was the Duke of Wellington. The duke's most recent biographer claims to have an advantage over all the other previous biographers. His advantage was that he had found an old account ledger that showed how the duke had spent his money: That, says the biographer, was a far better clue to what the duke thought was really important than reading his letters or his speeches. Can you imagine that? If someone wrote your biography on the basis of your checkbook, what might it say about you, your loyalties, your focus, and about whom you serve?     [Back to Top]